Good afternoon Mr. Morris,
I am writing in response to an article sent to me by a friend who happens to live in Mornington. The article, "Thousands of dogs killed", Herald Sun, June 26 2010, referred to the rising number of dog attacks and subsequent euthanasias of so-called dangerous dogs. According to the article, six people per day are attacked by dogs with one third of that being children under the age of 14 years. That is just in Victoria alone.
Here is where we can help!
We have a program developed that is actually aimed at the root cause of these attacks. It is directed primarily at children aged 5-12 years and is designed to do the following...
(in its most simplistic form)
* reduce the number of dog attacks
* teach the warning signs that are pre-cursors to an attack
* reduce the number of unnecessary euthanasias and therefore save council funds (and reputations!)
* increase awareness of simple dog behaviours and some body language
* what to do to avoid a confrontation
The program delivery time is approximately one hour and can be run as a community service or implemented in schools with an administration fee of only $8 per attendee.
The need for this program appears to be growing almost daily with children and many adults being totally unaware of how to interact with dogs. The cost to the community at large is becoming ridiculously out-of-control, with mostly knee-jerk reactions by the media and legislators being largely unhelpful and hysterical. It simply does not matter how many dogs are euthanased, or breeds banned, if we do not teach our children how to instinctively recognise unsafe situations with dogs and take steps to remove themselves, it will remain a constant merry-go-round of supposedly unsafe dogs being killed with new ones taking their place.
I feel very passionate about trying to redress the balance somewhat and would like the opportunity to discuss this with you in person. I realise there are other programs out there run by well-meaning councils in other regions, but I truly believe our interactive program will yield results. What can be more important than teaching children to protect themselves? I will travel to Mornington from the Gold Coast if necessary to discuss this with you!!
I am happy to make the program available to you should you feel this has some merit for your council. After all, what is being done at the moment anyway? I mean no disrespect, but it is too little, too late, to simply euthanase the dog in question if the child or adult repeats THEIR behaviour and contributes to another attack. And yes, we do need to take some responsibility!
I am looking forward to speaking with you and thank you for taking the time to read this...
Kind regards,
Suzy Marstaeller
Director
DogWise